William sparks



ttutd $151123 @sind @til-flirt.

Letters Patent N 96,991, dated November 16, 1869; antetlatell November5, 1869.

COAL-SCREEN.

The Schedule referred to' in these Letters Patent and making part o! thesame.

' To all 'whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM SPARKS, ofthe city of New York, in the county and State ot' New York, haveinvented and applied to use certain new and usefnl improvements in theNew and Improved Coal- Screen, patented September 6, 1865; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of thesame.

My improvements consist, first, in altering the form of the hopper b, soas to render the whole machine more compact, byset-tingthe screens moredirectly under the hopper b, and screening several -kimls of coal at thesame time; and, secondly, by rendering the whole operation of screeningcoal more inoffensive on account of dust.

To enable others' skilled in the art to make and use my improvements, Iwill proceed to describe their construction, application, and operation,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters ofreference thereon.

I construct my frame-work, a, ot` any suitable material, to support thehopper b in its proper position.

When more than one., or a series of hoppers, are to be used, theflame-work is to be constructed a-ccordingly.

The general form of the hopper b is to terminate with an angle at thelowest extremity, and at that point is situated the mouth or apertureot' egress for the coal to the screen, as shown at c.

lhe coal may be checked or regulated in its passage to the screen byadjusting the inclination of the bottom of the hopper b, but I generallyuse a gate or scrcening-regulator l for that purpose, operated by thebrake e, in connection with the bami-lever f, by the connecting-rod orpitman y, the leverfacting on a pivot in a slot, as shown at h.

The rack i, as represented, is to retain the gate or screening-regulatord, in any desired position, according to the size ot' the coal.

VThe form of the hopper b is shown. lhe sides are generallyperpendicular, and about four feet apart, but the dimensions must'beregulated by the circumstances.

'lhe mouth or aperture ot' egress is about ten inches wide and fourfeet, or thereahouts, long.

The gate or screenillg-rcgnlator rl is secured in its place, to the`bottom -of the hopper b, by means of strong iron strap-hinges, orotherwise, the object being merely to check or prevent the too rapiddescent ot' the coal upon the screen, and is regulated by thehand-level' f, Vas described above.

The screen k is constructed in the usual manner, except that the wiredoes not extend the whole length, but begins at about eighteen inchesfrom the upper end, which part is there lined with sheet-iron, for thecoal to strike as it falls from the hopper.

The sides of the screen are six oreight inches wide, tapering somewhatfrom the upper end, and the width to suit the mouth or aperture ot'egress o t the hopper Inns shown at c. l

The wire i'or the screen l.: may be ('rom one-fourth of an inch tothrec-eighths, or as shall seem most suitable for the size of coal to bescreened.

The screen la is suspended in its place, at c, in any suitable manner,or by means ot' iron plates and bolts and chains with hooks, so that theinclination of the screen may be varied by the links, as represented atl.

The screen in is i`or'the purpose of separating the still smaller coalfrom the dust, as it falls through the screen It, and requires to beabout four feet long, the screen k being about six, or thereabouts.

lhe screen m is suspended from the lower end of the screen k, inclininginvcrtcdly, and by means precisely similar, as represented at n. p.

Under the screen It is suspended an -apron or conductor, r, tbr thepurpose ot' conveying the dust or screenings properly to the screen m..

The apron or conductor is-constrncted of sheet-iron, or ot'anyothersuitable material, expanding across the screen, and extending two orthrrc feet, or as lmay best serve the purpose intended.

An apron or conductor is also attached to the screen m, in all respectssimilar to the one j ust described, both oi' which are tixed in theirplaces and positions, represented at s k n m, by platesl and smallscrc\v-bolts, or otherwise, as may bc desired.

Another mprovement'in the new and improved coal-screen is to line orcover the whole frame-work a with canvas or other suitable material, soas to enclose all the screens, except the necessary opening to deliverthe coai into the cart, vehicle, or other rcceptacle, for the purposeot' confining the dust.

My improvemeiits in the new and improved coalscreen, which are hereindescribed, enable me to screen coal in a more thorough manner, and theuse ot' the additional screen m still more diminishes the cost of coal.

'Io use my improvements, I piace the machine in a proper position, nearthe vessel, car, or way, leading to thc same, and having closed themouth or aperture ot' egress c, by elevating the handleverj, by meansot' the rod n, or otherwise, and securing it with the pin o in the rackt', or in/a similar manner with the pin, as shown at r, I proceed tohoist or turn the coal into the hopper b as each cart or vehiclearrives, or other receptacle furthe coal is ready.

l open thegat-cd by means of the hand-lever j, if

down on the ground, and having ascertained the proper gauge of the mouthor aperture of egress '0, according to the size ofthe coal to bescreened, I secure the gate d in that position, as before described, andclose it when the cart or vehicle is loaded.

Vhen I use my machine in a coal-yard, -I screen the coal into the cart,using any ordinary hoistingapparatus, for the purpose ot' turning thecoal into the hopper, from which the cart receives its load. Tile hopperb being of such dimensions as to hold several tons of coal, I continuethe filling into the hopper, while the carts are gone, so that they areseldom or never kept waiting, thus eecting a great saving of time, aswill be obvious, and besides screening and loading with Withesses:

J. M. MERCHUTT, E. S. GAYLOR.

